


L’ Appel du Vide

by Tamatoa



Category: Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Genre: Angst, Dubious Science, Hallucinations, Henry and Elizabeth are only at the end, Mostly Gen, Multi, this was for a school thing at first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 14:40:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13572696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamatoa/pseuds/Tamatoa
Summary: Canon-divergent: Victor Frankenstein goes through with creating the female creature, accidentally becomes a parent to a 9 foot tall reanimated child, has a lot of angst lmaoat the end its a bit gay, Henry Clerval is real in love with Victor have u read the book





	L’ Appel du Vide

The spark of life refused to take hold in the second creature, as if even then, the very universe conspired against her existence.  
I was at the same time elated and filled with despair, for although in the past I wished that another like the dæmon would never walk the earth, I knew that he would not accept this failure as an honest mistake. I thought that he might choose to exact his revenge on my loved ones, and my fear for their lives increased with every unsuccessful trial. Layers of decaying skin burned away, hair stood on end and fell away from the skull, electricity melded with panicked energy, and thunder sounded in the distance. I had nearly given up out of exhaustion when finally she stirred, drawing her first breaths with some difficulty, but otherwise perfectly alive. Despite my fear, I was determined to remain by her side, so that she would learn from the beginning that there was kindness in the world. The first creature’s hatefulness and wrath towards mankind was my own fault. My face had been the first sight his eyes had beheld, and I had fled from him. He began as innocent as any child, and his trust in the world had been betrayed.   
Lost in thought, I barely noticed my second creation reach for me until she had nearly touched my hand. In the moment, she seemed so like her predecessor on the night his life begin that I could not help but cringe away in fear, but quickly regained my bearings. As she sat upright, I remained standing as if I were rooted to the spot. She reached out again, and placed her hands on my shoulders as gently as if I were made of spun glass. The thunder roared, much closer this time, and she pulled me into a protective embrace. I allowed myself to relax for the first time in months, melting into her touch. I remained in the same spot for quite some time, until it appeared that she had fallen asleep, at which point I exited the workshop to let her rest. I had scarcely closed the door when the dæmon appeared.  
“You have fulfilled your end of this bargain; your suffering has come to a close. You shall never behold my face again after this day, and I shall be but a distant memory to haunt your sleeping hours,” he said. “That you might finally be free.” He made to push me aside and pass through the door, but when I thought of the creature- no, child, that slept inside, I knew that she could never be his.  
“Do you think to take her as your bride now, when only hours have passed since she first opened her eyes? She knows nothing, and if it is your intent to teach her, then she will consider your relationship as that of parent and child, rather than husband and wife. I will teach her, and you may return in time. Consider this a favor,” I felt my voice break. “Please.”   
He considered my words, then turned to face me again. “If you think to do any injury to her, or turn her against me, I will destroy all that you hold on to in this world to stay sane. I know how thinly your soul is stretched, how close you are to breaking. You care so deeply for everyone you let in that it would only take the loss of one for you to sink into despair.” He looked down at me for a moment, then walked away into the night.  
Nearly a month had passed since the second creature came to be. I had taken to calling her Else, after a childhood friend and neighbor. Even so early in her life, she was remarkably bright, and was just beginning to learn the particulars of speech. I almost regretted the lack of care I had put into making her beautiful, for she was deserving of an angel’s charm and grace. As it was, she stood almost nine feet tall, unnatural and sharp-featured, skin a patchwork of various colors and states of decay. I had managed to pass her off as being a foreign patient of mine, whose rare skin condition required transplants and near-constant observation. Although I assured my neighbors that she was in no way contagious, this caused them to give her a wide berth if she happened by. Isolated from human companions as she was, she still found ways to amuse herself. The island’s dismal animal life fascinated her, most of all the dusty moths that gathered around our candles at night. She had attempted to catch one only once, and was so despondent upon having crushed it that she refused to move from the spot for hours. I never dreamed that living with a reanimated creature could be so like having a child.   
“Victor! Look!” Else had something cupped in her hands, which meant either some beetle, or a mouse. Moths were only for looking at, and any slimy thing, a frog or worm, would be scooped up in a box to show. She opened her hands the tiniest bit, and a pointed nose stuck out. A mouse, sure enough.   
“How delightful! Have you given her a name?” I inquired, making sure to sound sincere. In these moments, every one of her discoveries may as well have been a miracle.   
“Bitey,” Else pouted. “She’s been chewing holes in my clothes.”   
I struggled not to laugh at that comment. “How do you know it was her, and not one of the others?” I asked.   
“Caught her at it!” Else smiled triumphantly and peeked at the mouse, accidentally releasing it back into the house. “Oops!”   
I stepped out of the mouse’s way, taking care not to tread on it. “It’s all right. I’m sure that you could catch her again.” We retired into the house, Else to attempt to recover her mouse, myself to contemplate this strange situation, which, if I had been informed of last year, I would have derided as completely impossible.   
The time had nearly come for Else to leave me. She had become quite articulate in both speaking and writing, and through the study of several scientific journals, had been able to channel her passion for biology into forming a catalogue of the island’s plant and animal species. I felt as proud as if I were her father, but at the same time dreaded the thought of her being swept off to the wilds of South America to be the dæmon’s bride. Alone, she would be elated to find herself in such an environment, with such great biodiversity that it would take years to explore it all, but whenever I had mentioned her future husband, she had laughed and declared that she would much prefer to stay with me. I had been pondering the question of what the creature would do if confronted with that issue, all the while tidying up the lab- for the most part a mindless task, as Else rarely made use of anything toxic in her work. Suddenly, a nail on one of the shelves gave way, sending a great quantity of bottled chemicals crashing to the floor. The combined fumes burned in my lungs, and I collapsed to the floor. I called for Else, but she had gone out on one of her wandering journeys around the island. My vision blurred, the world spun around me, and I drifted into unconsciousness.   
An uncertain amount of time passed, and I awoke as a cadaver on an operating table. The dæmon stood over me, engaged in some occupation out of my line of sight. When he realized that I had awakened, he shifted his focus to me.  
“You have broken your promise, just as I had expected,” he said, voice devoid of any emotion save an almost tangible, seething rage. “Had I not made it clear that unless you created a wife for me, who would love me as no one else in your cruel world could, I would find a way to make you feel all the pain I had endured, and more? This being you have created could never love me. You deceived me!” With every syllable, he drew nearer, until with one movement, he snapped my neck. I felt a spike of pain, and my vision faded to black. I felt a sensation of floating, then phantom hands running through my hair. Stars flickered in the darkness, some impossibly close, constantly shifting and forming unfamiliar constellations. The freezing vacuum of space melded with the heat of the stars, and my skin blistered even as ice crystals formed over my eyes. I cried out for Else, for Henry, for Elizabeth, for God!- but not a sound escaped the void. The phantom hands returned, this time to force a spoonful of medicine down my throat. It was cool and soothing on the way down, but turned into molten glass as it came back up. In the distance, someone began to sing. Another voice read poetry under the first, and I felt the intonations flow over me. The singer lit a candle, placed it next to me in the void, then disappeared. The candle remained stationary as I floated, as if it had been set on a table. I watched as it burned, wax dripping and pooling on the invisible surface, until the wick ended and the flame went out. The stars followed it, flickering out one by one until I was left in complete blackness again. I realized that my eyes were closed, and I opened them to find myself in my own home, listening to the voice of Henry Clerval.  
“..and the transplants! Victor, you always were a genius, and I can scarcely blame you for dropping everything to help this wonderful girl. We came as soon as her letter reached Elizabeth, she was absolutely devastated to hear of your accident, but has become fast friends with Else. They are just outside, going over the biology catalogue, which has fascinated both Elizabeth and myself enormously. Victor, please wake up. I don’t know if I could live knowing that you were gone forever. We all miss you so dearly.” He looked a mess, dark circles under his eyes and an almost manic energy about him. I reached out to comfort him, and he wrapped his arms around me, clinging to my shirt as sobs wracked his frame. I held him reverently, high on the euphoria of touching something solid and real. Elizabeth rushed inside, and I pulled her into my embrace alongside Henry. She smiled through her tears when Else burst through the door and lifted the three of us with ease, and in that moment, I felt more truly happy and loved than ever before. The sun had risen by the time we finally released each other.   
As soon as Henry and Elizabeth had left, Else related the story of how she had found me unconscious in the lab and done everything she could think of to revive me, eventually seeking out a doctor from the mainland to ensure that my condition remained stable. She had written to Elizabeth, finding the address from an old letter I kept, giving her the same story I had told the islanders concerning her appearance, before pleading for her to come see me. When at last the story had concluded, we sat together for some time before she broke the silence again.  
“Victor, something strange happened during the weeks before Miss Lavenza arrived. A foreign man, dressed in a manner such that I was unable to make out his face, stopped by. He told me that his name was Ahmed, and that he was an acquaintance of yours. He seemed quite distressed by your condition, acting as if it were his own fault that the accident had occurred, and insisted that I inform you that he was going on a long journey, never to return, and for you to not concern yourself with the gift you meant to give him, as you would be made a great deal happier by keeping it.” She stated, looking to me for answers to her unspoken questions. I was too lost in thought from the ending of her story to pay them any mind. I was free from the dæmon, never to see him again.


End file.
